Who should Manchester United sign in January?

by Guilherme Neto

Currently sitting in second place in the Premier League and 15 points behind the league leaders Manchester City, José Mourinho and Manchester United are determined to strengthen the team in the upcoming transfer window in January. A lot of players have been linked with the Red Devils in the past weeks, with bookmakers like NetBet Sport keen on offering some tempting payouts in case United does sign any of their potential targets. Naturally however, not all that comes out is necessarily true. We’ll evaluate some of those transfer rumors and try to assess which ones would actually be a good fit for the current Man United roster.

» Antoine Griezmann

He has been linked with Manchester United for some time now, but for one reason or another, he is yet to become a Red Devil. The French forward is Atletico Madrid’s main star these days and even though he hasn’t had the best season so far on a personal level, his value and his talent is undeniable. With only 7 goals in 17 appearances for Atletico in the current campaign, Griezmann has been in the middle of some controversy in the past few days, after posting a tweet in which he appeared painted in black. The incident raised a few racial concerns, but it shouldn’t affect United’s interest in signing him as soon as possible.

The 26-year old would be facing a lot of competition in United’s attack with the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Lukaku, Martial or even Lingard playing in similar areas of the pitch, but we’re sure it wouldn’t take him much time to establish himself as a regular choice under José Mourinho’s orders.

Antoine Griezmann linked with Manchester United move

» Alex Sandro

Even though Mourinho has several options at his disposal for the left-back position (Ashley Young, Blind and Darmian), if Manchester United has a chance to sign Juventus’ Alex Sandro, they would surely be adding value to their squad. The 26-year old Brazilian came to Europe in 2011 to play for Portuguese giants FC Porto and he immediately made an impact. He’s strong, fast, reliable at the back and sharp in attack.

» João Mário

The Portuguese midfielder was a vital piece in Portugal’s run to the crown in the EURO 2016 last year, but he’s been struggling to leave his mark in Italy while playing for Inter Milan. In 43 appearances for the Nerazzurri, João Mário only scored in 3 occasions. This season he has not scored yet and has only played in 11 fixtures so far. He’s yet to establish himself as a regular choice with Luciano Spalletti and perhaps a move to England and Manchester would spark the Portuguese career.

» Eden Hazard

According to the latest reports coming from the English media, the Chelsea superstar could become Manchester United’s primary target next summer. The 26-year already worked with Mourinho during his last spell at Chelsea and even though things didn’t go well, a new partnership in Manchester could see them writing a different chapter in English football. Hazard would not only transform this Manchester United team into a more dangerous side, as he would also weaken Chelsea, one of their main rivals for the title in England.

The Belgian forward would not only meet his national teammate Romelu Lukaku in United’s attack, as he would probably get along very well with other French-speaking players in the squad like Paul Pogba.

Since he arrived to England, Hazard already scored 62 goals in 189 appearances for Chelsea. Obviously, he would need no time to adapt to the country, league and language if he was to move to United and that could also be an encouraging factor for Mourinho to insist in his signing.